Tithonus
by beautybelle300256
Summary: Children can't fall in love. Robots don't have souls. You always want what you can't have. Forever isn't all that long when I'm with you. Three-shot
1. Chapter 1

Apparently I'm a masochist because I need like 3 or 4 stories going at once Xp

I know ya'll are probably going to hate me for this and try and stone me, but just so you're informed: this actually started off as a crack-pairing of mine that just sort of raised itself over time to my #2 OTP (just behind Spova). And I know it's sad and I make Chiro look bad, but that's what I wanted to do, so bugger off about that. There _are _going to be 2 other chapters in the others point-of-view so this thing will make more sense and not be as horrible. I just don't know when they'll get here.

**Quote**: _"The course of true love never did run smooth."--Shakespeare_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own these characters nor am I making any profit from writing them.

* * *

The first time they met was around a large holographic table displaying the various battle strategies the Team had come up with in order to combat the newest version of the Skeleton King. They didn't really stand out to each other. They were just standing next to each other, listening to the monkeys interrupt each other about various aspects of the plans.

It wasn't until a few days later amidst all the chaos that Chiro noticed how...well they were getting along. It was only natural though: they were colleagues now, they were both advanced robots with sophisticated artificial intelligence, and JinMay was always sweet. So he brushed it off and prepped from the next battle just like everyone else was.

He didn't keep any particular eye out for them or anything, but he did notice the slight absence of his girlfriend during his free time. He wasn't selfish by any means and he realized that they had probably gotten different schedules and she wouldn't appreciate him wearing himself down with worry over her. She would be fine. So he fell into his bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow and didn't think anymore about it...

... Until he saw them both walking along very comfortably together during another scarce moment of relaxation.

He was a little hurt by this. But he decided that she couldn't have possibly known when his next breather was and he actually had no idea what they were discussing and they were both robots anyway so they really couldn't move any other way besides the way their mechanics had built. He took a deep breath and ran off to join them. (Funny how there actually _did _seem to be an uncomfortable tension now that he was here...).

From then on he spent as much time with JinMay as possible; of course it never failed that _he _would be right there with them the whole time. He could forgive him though--he didn't know the social customs of humans, he was probably totally oblivious to what his relationship with JinMay entailed. Besides, he had willingly given up his hunt for his enemy to help the Team out with theirs, so casting him in such doubt was not only rude but just plain wrong.

The battles intensified over time and he was sucked further and further into the War and away from his girlfriend. She always understood though. She was so sweet; guilt started to eat him up for being so... mistrusting of her. How many things had she done for him? Hadn't she waited for him on the off chance that he _might _return? And tried to save the City to the best of her abilities?

Once the War was over he'd make it up to her, he swore.

Then, one day, the War _was _over, and he was alive. He was bruised and bloodied and exhausted beyond sanity and he felt as if some parts of him had died somewhere along the way, but he was alive; and so was she.

They celebrated. The whole planet did. There was a big to-do: there where many cheers and kisses and hugs and tears and smiles and grief but none it really mattered because it was finally and truly _over_. The Skeleton King had been wiped from the face of the Universe _for good_. And it was all thanks to him.

But at the end of the day when the euphoria had died down and people were returning to their beds or shuffling off to just be with each other in mutual feelings he was left with only his team for company. His team ,which consisted of five cybernetic monkeys and no one else.

He frantically searched the area, looking for a flash of pink or a light giggle that contained all the goodness and innocence that the universe could hold. There was none to be found.  
He absently told the general direction of his team that he was going for a walk and began a thorough search of the City. There was only one person in the Cosmo's that he wanted to be with right now and she was nowhere to be found.

After what must have been several hours he finally caught a hint of her. In their favorite spot. With _him_.

Chiro didn't know what to think. So he didn't, he simply snuck up behind her and gave her a surprise kiss. Her eyes widened as they usually did, but this time that little sparkle of appreciation and love wasn't in them. The blush was definitely from embarrassment as it usually was but he could help but feel it was different this time. He wrapped an arm around her anyway and told her that he'd missed her.

She smiled at him in return and told him that she had missed him too. Her smile was still the same. Still his.

He pulled her a little closer all the same and stared at the other occupant from the corner of his eye.

No one said anything for the remainder of the night.

He attached himself to her hip after that. Not literally of course, but he was never far from her and spent every second he could with her. _He _had yet to leave the planet.

_He _was always on the periphery of his vision; always just outside the comfortable bubble that Chiro had so painstakingly fought for.

"Chiro," JinMay said one day. "Chiro, there's something we need to talk about."

"Shoot," he said.

"You know I love and all, but you're becoming very... cling-y."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you hardly ever let me out of your sight, much less your arms."

"Well sor-_ry _if I want to hold my girlfriend who I barely spent any time with since we've met."

"But that's just it! We have spent a lot of time together. We've spent so much lately that it's suffocating. Chiro, I will always always love you, but I need my own space too."

After that fight, JinMay found herself with all the space that she needed and more. Chiro refused to talk to her for over a week.

He noticed that she never seemed really _upset _that he was ignoring her (exasperated maybe, but not heartbroken or anything) and that she filled up most of her time with _him_.

When he couldn't take it anymore, he apologized and they kissed and made up. He wrote it off as just a normal lover's spat and resumed trying to fill his time with her.

However, JinMay seemed much more adamant that she be allowed her own space away from him now.

"Chiro, just stop."

"I'm only trying to help you."

"I don't _need _your help with this."

"I _want _to help you."

"I don't want your help right now!"

She hadn't ever been this bossy as far as he could remember and he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with _his _influence over her (even when he was finally out of the picture he still managed to ruin everything).

"Please, Chiro, just let me have five minutes. I have a headache."

"You don't get headaches."

"_Yes_, I do. And you're not helping my current one."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to just _be quiet _for a few minutes, please."

He let her have it though, if only to keep the delicate peace that remained between them.

"What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, what do _you _want to do today?"

"I don't _know_, what do _you _want to do today?"

"I _don't know_, what do you want to do today?"

"Just pick something, Chiro!"

Their fights were becoming more and more frequent though.

"_Why _can't I fight by myself?"

"It's too dangerous."

"I'm a _robot_; I can take harder hits and destroy things better if I have enough space to fire at my opponents."

"But what if you get ripped apart again?"

"Then I guess you'll just have to put me back together."

"What if I can't?"

"_Then get Otto and Gibson to do it_."

He didn't understand; he was doing _everything _for her, and she still demanded more from him. It seemed like she never sacrificed for him and he was getting sick of it. He had given his life up multiple times for the sake of the Universe because of some stupid prophecy that he had to fulfill, didn't he deserve some kind of reward? Where was his justice?

Antauri began to council him more about his growing temper; Nova tried to get him to focus more on healthy expression of emotions; Otto wanted him to help out more with his inventions; Gibson began piling him with more and more school work; Sprx tried talking to him man-to-monkey. He knew they were trying to help in their own ways, but he was honestly just sick of it all. He wouldn't have to go through all this if he was a normal teenager; if he didn't have to go off and save some planet or the entire universe every so often. He could have a real life and spend as much time with his girlfriend as he wanted and not worry about whether or not he'd see her again tomorrow.

"Chiro," she finally told him one day. "Chiro, this isn't working. I can't take this anymore, I feel like I can't breathe."

"You don't have lungs," he pointed out.

"You know what I mean."

"What do you want me to do? You want me to just stop worrying about you all the time, or wanting to see you? I can't do that JinMay, I love you too much."

"I'm not asking you to stop loving me, Chiro. I'm asking that we...take some time apart. Go on a little break. Only for awhile. Until you get over...whatever it is you won't tell us about."

"We don't need a break. We're _fine_. _I'm_ fine."

"But we're not!"

"Only because you go run off to _him _every chance you get!"

"What?"

"Yeah, that's right. I know all about you two and how great of 'friends' you've become lately. If you'd just stop it and love me as much as I love you then we'd be fine."

"How could you say that? I've told you millions of times, I love you. Yes, I have other friends and people I like to hang out with and have fun with besides you--but so do you. You can't hold a double standard, Chiro."

"That's different!"

"How?!"

"I _have _to go save the universe and meet other people. You don't _have _to be so friendly with him."

"What do you want me to do? Be rude to him?"

"Yes."

"I can't do that, Chiro. He doesn't deserve that."

"Oh and why not? He's not exactly the most polite person himself. In fact, he's one of the biggest jerks I've ever had the displeasure to meet in my life."

"_Chiro_--how could you say something like that?"

"Because it's true and you know it."

"I'll admit he's not always the most pleasant person to be around, but he has his merits."

"Why don't you just go with him then. It's obvious you'd rather go wandering the galaxy at his side than mine."

"Chiro--"

"No! Just leave. I don't want to hear it."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"_Fine_."

The next day he found out that she'd had Gibson and Otto replace her programming about her feelings toward him. And had left with Prometheus 5 for some far off corner of the universe.

The Chosen One, Savior of the Universe, and Champion of Worlds threw a tantrum only teenager could and spent the next few years nursing a broken heart before he ever matured enough to finally forgive and move on with his life.

It helped that he never saw her again.


	2. Chapter 2

Yep, it's here. Don't be too cruel with your judgment yet. Let the robots speak up for themselves.

And yes, I _know _it's long (trust me) but I just _could not_ make it as short as Chiro's. Sling-y is way more pushy than the little twerp and a far more interesting character to study.

**

* * *

Quote**: _"If there is a soul, it is a mistake to believe that it is given to us fully created. It is created here, throughout a whole life. And living is nothing else but that long and painful bringing forth."-- Albert Camus_

**Disclaimer**: I am not making any profit from this fic because I do not hold any rights to these characters. At all.

* * *

_**~i~**_

The girl was following him again.

Really, it was just getting pathetic now instead of plain old annoying. Didn't she have _anything _better to do?

"Stop following me."

"I'm not," she said. And if she hadn't looked at him so innocently he might have believed her. "We just happen to be going the same way."

"For the last three miles?"

"Yes."

"I have no idea where I am anymore. You can't tell me that there is something important to do around here because it's just another deserted roadway."

The female android just turned her eyes from him and kept on walking. Okay, this was _beyond_ pathetic, it was creepy.

"Go away."

"I have just as much right to be here as you."

"Doesn't mean you have to be here _with _me."

"I told you: I'm not."

If he hadn't seen her in action a few times, Prometheus 5 would have never guessed that this same little mecha could demolish off a whole squadron of monsters all on her own. She was just so..._polite_ and _human_. Two things which he didn't even try to like. Really, if you want to get something done, why submit yourself to others opinion of it? You should just go out and do it.

"Then leave me alone."

"Am I bothering you?"

He really really hated those too human eyes that he knew could melt his central processor with just a little concentration of heat and energy waves. They were too big and too emotional. She was a _machine_; she shouldn't be feeling like that.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Because she just _did_, okay? He wasn't a social being; it was not in his programming to act all caring and polite all the frikkin time, all right? He was designed to be the ultimate fighting machine that would hold one of the slimiest creatures that had ever been brought into existence. He didn't _do_ compassion.

"Because."

"That's not a very good reason." She actually had the nerve to _smile _and giggle at him as if he had made some sort of frivolous statement. What was her _deal_?

"What is your _deal_? Aren't you and Chiro...courting or whatever the humans call it--?"

"Dating?"

"Whatever. The point is you should be back there with him and leave me alone. I don't want your pity or your company."

"He's busy. Besides, just because we're dating doesn't mean I can't have friends."

"We're not friends."

"Not yet."

He tried processing everything she had just told him and he still couldn't come to any sort of reasonable conclusion. _He didn't do friendship_. Was that so hard to understand?

"I'm only here because of the Prototype and as payment for the Hyperforce helping me out with Dr. Maezono. I'm not here to make friends or anything else."

"Who's Maezono?"

"One of the filthiest and most despicable persons who ever had the misfortune of being born. He also helped create me."

"It must be nice..."

"What?"

"Knowing where you're from."

"Wha--?" Before he could quite wrap his head around what she had just said she had taken off. Finally.

He looked around the empty street they had been standing and realized he had no reason to be here any longer. He'd have to head back to Prototype as well.  
That girl was way more trouble than she looked.

_**~ii~**_

She didn't really follow him that much for the next few weeks. That was good. He didn't want her company any more than he wanted to host the sick mind of his creator.

And then one day she was sitting next to him on Prototype's--the Super Robot as he so called himself--shoulder. They didn't talk, but she was just staring at the horizon with him.

He supposed that there was some human sentiment in the action that he was unaware of, but he kept his visuals out just the same and conversed with the Super Robot about what the War was like.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked out of the blue--interrupting the mecha-sibling bonding.

"What?"

"The sky. Isn't it beautiful? I love watching the stars."

"It's an empty void filled with unstable balls of burning gas and large asteroids that will hurtle you into scrap faster than you can process."

"That doesn't mean it isn't nice to look at."

Prometheus 5 turned his optics toward the horizon as she had and stared out over the devastated land into the fading light as the planet slowly turned away from it's primary star for the day. He didn't see anything special in the shift of light.

"It's a waste of time."

"We're robots; we have all the time in the worlds to waste."

"Until we rust away into some scrap heap and are used for some sicko's next big scheme."

"You're really negative, you know that?"

"Well sorry I can't be all Prince Charming to your Fairytale Princess, princess, but I was programmed to see things as they are. Not as they are perceived--and don't you stick up for _her_," he turned to the Super Robot who had made a very valid point that things as they are can be beautiful whether people think they are or not.

JinMay smiled and gently rubbed the shoulder she was sitting on in a 'thank you' gesture.

The quiet came again and Slingshot sulked at the unfairness of being proven wrong by his mecha-brother and some little goody-goody human doll.

The three robots kept a close surveillance throughout the night and most of the next day.

_**~iii~**_

They began watching each other's backs in battle. It wasn't really conscious effort. He just happened to notice a particularly vicious soldier coming up behind her as she grappled with another few and took care of it (and the others) for her. Then she retaliated by decimating a rather tough specimen that had pinned him down and was trying to eat into his circuitry. After that it was just natural to keep an eye out and then to simply just battle back-to-back with each other; they got a lot more done that way.

Of course that meant that they spent _a lot_ of extra time together and therefore had many more frivolous and pointless conversations. Plus, she seemed to take the gesture as one of mutual desire for companionship and began following him around once more.

The annoying little drudge.

But he finally had the revelation that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon so he might as well just go along with the whole thing. It saved him a 'headache'--or he assumed that that was what a headache felt like: an annoying little buzzing in his processor that was always somehow related to her and drove him to the edges of insanity and back.

"Just because you can't be friendly doesn't mean you can't be civil," she had told him once when he had once again demanded her to leave him alone or to just be quiet or something like that (those arguments just all blurred together now).

And he realized that she was right (after a few days of mulling it over and having the Super Robot back her up once again), so he took it to "heart" and actually tried to be civil towards her and the other allies he was stuck with for the time being. Things seemed to go a lot easier when he did that...

_**~iv~**_

"What are you going to do once this whole thing is over?" she asked. They were once again out and about at night; her looking at the stars and he keeping his sensors on high alert in case of a surprise attack.

"Begin searching for Maezono again." His supply was short (as they always were) and matter-of-fact.

"What are you going to do when you find him?"

She said 'when,' not 'if.' It was like she was implying that she had no doubt that he would indeed catch up to the creep and succeed in his life's goal.

"I'm going to make him pay for everything he's done."

"Why?"

"Because he deserves it. He's murdered innocent people just because he was trying to achieve some sadistic and twisted dream. He doesn't deserve to live."

"How are you going to do it?" Was she honestly curious about how he planned on killing the worthless creep?

"I'm going to tear him apart, nerve ending by nerve ending. He's nothing but a brain in a jar now," he clarified at her curious look. He was generally very open about his past; there was nothing to be ashamed of or hide. People just didn't seem to want to know anything about him after the first conversation.

"And then?"

"'And then,' what?" Honestly, what was this? Twenty Questions? There wasn't any prize at the end of this game.

"What are you going to do after that's over with?"

"I'm..." He had absolutely no answer to that. Finishing off Dr. Maezono was his only goal. There was no _afterwards_. That was where the story ended. Simple as that.

But...surely he wouldn't just stop functioning after that was done. That was illogical. What else _was_ there to do once your life long goal had been completed?

"You don't know," she stated simply with a sad smile full of pity for him. He hated pity. He didn't need it and he didn't _deserve _it.

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do, _princess_? Just sit around here and dote upon the oh-so-mighty Chosen One? Wait for him to get back from each battle just so he can read stupid poetry to you and stare at the sky some more? That's not really much of a plan either."

She stared at him for a long time. Her normally expressive eyes seemed...empty. She truly looked more machine than human now. For some reason that didn't really sit well with him, but he didn't take back his words. They were true enough, and you should never be sorry for the truth.

She sighed and turned back toward the sky, the silence of a depressing and uncomfortable sort now.

He walked on at her side though.

It wasn't like either of them could sleep anyway.

**_~v~_**

It had been raining the past few days. This hadn't really mattered so much to them but the organic beings were so obsessed with averting the water that no one else had dared to venture outside for patrol. Of course it was hard for evil sludge to maintain a constant form when it was wet so it had been pretty quiet on that front.

Today had just been muddy--it was the first time the sun had shown itself in almost a week.

It was actually pretty nice out (not that he would admit that out loud) and she was once again walking along beside him within the abandoned city.

He was...enjoying himself. JinMay wasn't harping him with annoying questions and he didn't have to worry about rusting anytime soon. It was..._peaceful_.

He would never ever say this to her out loud, but she seemed to have gotten the message anyway and was just smiling at everything as if it was ten times as good now that he sort of agreed with her. They had an understanding of sorts. It was unspoken and not really consciously acknowledged, but they had spent so much time together the past few months that they had learned each other.

They were...compatible now.

And then Chiro came splashing through the moment and began chattering away.

...They really did deserve each other.

_**~vi~**_

It was sunset and he was wandering around the city. Alone.

He was relieved. He could finally think without her butting in with her annoying and pointless questions and he wasn't being forced to contemplate the sky or imagine how pretty everything was and he was _alone_.

He was alone.

That was a good thing. He didn't need her stupid expressive eyes or her human quirks or her girly emotions or her useless morals or soothing smile or her distracting chatter or the comfortable silences they had finally acquired or her friendship.

Slingshot looked around the roads and once again realized that he didn't have any reason to be here now that she wasn't.

He spent the night with his own thoughts anyway. His most prominent one being that he had never noticed how unsettling solitary silence could be.

"Stupid girl." Why was she the only person who could break the silences? "Stupid emotions." He _liked_ silence, so why did he think he'd go insane with it now? "They're pointless."

_**~vii~**_

She kept dragging him along on all her "dates." It was disgusting really. Why would he ever want to hang out with the two of them when they were making stupid eyes at each other?

And yet he went along with it all just like he always did. Because she had finally driven him insane and was ever so slowly but surely turning him into a "sociable" being. That stuck up little drudge. He didn't _need _anybody. But she just couldn't leave him alone if he didn't fall into some nice-and-dainty category within her princess-style world.

"What do you think, Slingshot?" she asked.

"What?" He clearly hadn't been paying attention to the on-going debate.

"What do you think about instant matter transportation?" she repeated; she was always so dang _polite_ and _nice_. Especially when _he _was around. Really, it was almost like switch went on in her head when _he _was around.

"I think it's impossible because you can't be two places at once and the risk of your molecules rearranging in a completely new and random pattern is too great."

"See?" she said to her boyfriend.

"Geez, have a little faith you guys. With all that technology and magic can do, I'd think something as simple as transporting you from one place to another would be a piece of cake."

"It's not about technology and magic--it's about the basic composition of matter and it's fundamental dependency upon being arranged _exactly _how it is in order to keep being whatever it is. When you split atoms, the chance of them reforming again into exactly the way they were is almost none. Even with magic, there's no way that re-shaping could be predicted or guaranteed to be perfectly like the original," Slingshot told the human.

"Okay, okay, geez, I don't need any more science lectures. Gibson's got that covered." JinMay laughed appropriately when Chiro turned towards her. Slingshot couldn't find anything in his statement that would warrant any humor but she was just insane like that.

Prometheus 5 turned away from the duo once again and looked out at the sky.

_**~viii~**_

The battles were becoming more intense. He loved every second of it.

Not necessarily because he loved to fight (which he did very much because that's just how he was created, as an invincible weapon of creative destruction) but because it was something to _do_. You could only sit and stare at the sky as two 'in love' teenagers chatted behind your back for so long.

And she was still there, at his back. And she was really bringing the heat now. Her weapons systems were more advanced than he had perceived--although her fighting style could use some definite pointers. She was fighting like an organic. She could take a harder hit than what she was allowing for with minimal damage.

"Aim higher!" he called out to her.

"What?"

"Aim higher up on them, it's weaker."

"I'll be too open then."

"So? You have reinforced amour don't you? Make use of it."

JinMay dutifully followed his advice.

Bull's eye. It wasn't the most graceful hit that had ever been done, but the giant sludge-monster-thing splashed down into puddle form and didn't move again. It was good enough for now.

"Remind me to teach you how to really fight later."

"What?"

"You're far too reserved. You can take hits better than you're allowing. You need to learn not to hold back, that's too much of a weakness--especially now that the monsters are getting tougher."

She stared at him for a second as if she was unsure whether or not he was telling the truth but had to get back into battle mode before too long. They were in a war, after all.

_**~ix~**_

She was performing _much _better. Her hit count was up astoundingly and she moved a lot more confidently and gracefully now that she had a few _real _lessons in.

Slingshot nearly lost his head to the giant bone-hand that was clawing at it because he was watching his new 'pupil' too closely.

A perfectly aimed set of lasers and a flash of a cheeky smile were thrown his way to get rid of the culprit.

"Stick to your own fights," he told her; not all that seriously though. In fact, organics would almost call that teasing.

"Only when you're able to manage your own," she replied. That little smile grew into a full out grin as she teased him back.

"_Please_, I was created for this. You just watch your own back, princess."

And they went on from there until one day the battle was finally over.

All the formless suddenly collapsed in on themselves and the sky cleared and there was a feeling of _right _throughout the world. People cheered and it was all over.

The celebration was insane. Everyone seemed to have lost their mind--whether literally or if it was just the alcohol he would never know, nor did he particularly care.

He stood by stoically along the edge, watching the proceeding with an annoyed and arrogant air. Organics were disgusting, was his final judgment as he watched them all begin to pair off--and not necessarily in private either.

And suddenly she was there, next to him and smiling.

"Come on," she said and grabbed his hand. This was new. They'd never _touched _before. Well except when they were fighting or practicing (which he was pretty sure wasn't what this was leading up to). He let her drag him by the hand regardless; through the maze of streets that they had so often wandered over the past--had it been a year already? Time flies when you're fighting evil, he supposed.

She eventually brought him to a peaceful little rooftop that over looked the harbor and was far enough away from the city lights that multiplied the stars you could see.

"This is my favorite spot," she informed him. He noticed she still had a firm hold on his hand.

"Oh really?" he tried sounding interested.

She shot him a smile that let him know she was thankful for the effort but she knew he couldn't care less.

She released his hand and sat down with her knees tucked under her chin. He joined her on the ground, looking out at the scene before them.

"Are you still going to go after Maezono?" she asked.

"Yes." He didn't sound as passionate about it as usual.

"When are you leaving?"

"I don't know...whenever I'm not needed anymore, I guess." He should leave now. Now when there was no one to stop him and they couldn't pull him into clean-up duty.

"Have you figured out what you're going to do afterwards?"

"Not yet...but someone told me that I have all the time in the worlds to waste, so I'm not going to worry about it."

"You should come back," she told him.

"Why?"

"Because I'd miss you."

Of course she would. She was just so dang caring like that and for some reason he was her pity case now.

"I don't need your pity."

"I don't pity you, Sling. In fact I envy you."

"What?" Now _that _was unexpected. Little Miss Perfect Princess was _jealous _of _him_?

"You know where you come from and where you're going--for the most part--and you _can _go off and do whatever it is you want to do. Some of us aren't as free."

"What's stopping you then?" The bitterness and sadness in her voice and eyes was highly unnerving. It was just so..._not _JinMay.

She just sighed in response and looked out at the stars again.

"Okay, _no_. You can't just keep bringing something up and then dropping it whenever someone finally responds to it. Either tell me about it or just stop complaining because it's annoying."

She gave him a sad sort of bittersweet smile that he couldn't interpret before replying.

"I can't deny my programming anymore than you can deny yours."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I _have _to stay here and be his perfect damsel. It's who I was made to be."

Oh...so it _was _a switch. Huh.

"Override it."

"What?"

"Just...override the program with something else--anything else. Become a cook or a fighter or whatever."

"That simple, huh?"

"We're machines. We're designed to be simple."

"And what would I do then?"

"Same thing as me, I guess."

"And what's that?"

"Waste the rest of our existence."

She gave him a real smile then. Not a polite little quirk of the lips or an over done grin or even a Chiro-smile, but a true and sincere smile that he doubted many others had ever seen.

They fell into comfortable silence then. It was peaceful and friendly and full of mutual contentment.

That was until the little human boy came along and began pawing at her.

_**~x~**_

He didn't leave the planet for another few months.

He stayed and helped with restoring houses and buildings and getting rid of all slime creature remains. And he watched her.

Not creepily or obsessively or predatorily, but he did recognize the shift between them that night and he waited on some signal for...something.

It came in the form of her running into his arms crying one night. He had just been minding his own business when suddenly his arms were full of a crying JinMay and she _wouldn't stop_. He had no idea what to do. He'd never seen this sort of thing before (heard of it yes, but to actually witness and be a part of it was entirely different than hearing about it and scoffing and the poor feeble organics).

"Um..."he tried to push her off him but she had a firm hold around his neck. "JinMay...?"

"I--I'm so-sorry," she blubbered--never releasing her titanium hold. "W-we j-just ha-had a f-fi-fight."

"Uh..."

He stood there frozen for a good while as she cried and tried to tell him what happened--not that he could _understand _her. Eventually she seemed to have gone through all her tears and she released him enough to look at him in the face.

The tear tracks down her face made her look truly pathetic and miserable.

"I'm sorry," her voice was hoarse from her wailing.

"You should be," he said.

"Chiro and I just had a fight. I think we might break-up."

"I thought that you couldn't...?"

"I--I don't know what would happen. And honestly, I'd rather not find out."

"Oh..."

They stood in awkward silence for a bit; each one a bit embarrassed by the whole thing.

"What are you going to do?" he finally asked.

"I--I'm not sure. All I asked for was some breathing space and then he got all angry and just...maybe I'll let him cool down some and then we can talk it out."

"Uh-huh. And how big is breathing space?"

"Not very big." She wouldn't meet his eyes anymore. She couldn't look at the stars either, so she settled for the dirt.

"I...I'm taking off soon. By the end of the week," he told her. It was oddly uncertain sounding, as if he wasn't quite sure he was actually going to do it.

"That'll be nice. I'm sure you've got a lot of ground to cover now. With your search. For Maezono."

"Yes...my search. I've stayed here too long already."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know. Maybe someday."

"Someday has always been my favorite day. A lot's going to happen on it." Her smile was back, even if she still couldn't quite meet his eyes.

"Yeah..."

She took his hand and led him once more to that rooftop and they spent the night waiting for the sun to come up.

_**~xi~**_

He did leave at the week's end. There was really no point in staying; they had made up.

_**~xii~**_

Maezono was surprisingly easy to find--brains in a jar were still a rare commodity.

Unfortunately he had been away for so long that the defense army against him was amazingly advanced and coordinated. He barely stood a chance.

Stood he did though and just kept hammering back at the despicable waste of flesh.

He was dented and burned and chipped and suffered some serious manglement when he finally reached the center of the layer where the good Doctor was.

"Your time is up, Maezono."

"I do not think so, my boy. For you see, I still hold the upper hand."

A swarm of laser probes rose out along with the giant computers rising to life. But that was okay, because he had fully expected that. In fact, he would have been highly upset if the brain didn't have some last tricky defense ready for him. It would take away a lot of the justified revenge of the thing.

With a enraged battle cry Slingshot threw himself at the closest computer-robot and managed to get a minor domino effect out of its demise.

He jumped and dodged and shot around at the little probes that tailed him. Every chance he got making a bee-line toward the stupid brain who would be smirking if he had a mouth.

"Give up, Prometheus. I built you, I know your weaknesses. I know what kind of lasers best penetrate your armor and I know each and every move you could ever make. If you give up now,

I'll still consider using you as a body instead of just turning you into scrap metal."

"_Scrap this_."

Slingshot shot a laser at the brain before shooting himself after it. The energy of the laser allowed enough distortion within the shield before the brain that Prometheus 5 was just able to get through and slam into the connection podium before hitting the other side of the shield. His penetration of the stand cut the brain off from his machines, making them all lifeless once more.

Prometheus 5 was now charred, scorched, and in desperate need of total maintenance. His basic systems were trying to shut down but he pushed on. He slowly stood up and faced his arch-enemy who he had chased from one side of the galaxy to the other.

"Now, doctor," he said. His voice modifier was on the fritz and so cut out into static at bits before the entire message was out coherently.

He picked up the whimpering brain and smashed his protection glass into the ground. It merely chipped the glass.

"You cannot win," the brain taunted. Prometheus 5 repeated to smash the glass onto the floor until it shattered. All the while his worthless creator taunted him about his failures and inadequacy.

Once the glass barrier had been removed from between them, Prometheus 5 held true to his word and began meticulously pulling the brain apart, one little nerve ending at a time. Even after

Dr. Maezono had finally died and was nothing more than organic fibers.

He burned the remains as well, just in case.

_**~xiii~**_

Wasting time wasn't much fun when you didn't have anyone to do it with, Slingshot found.

He had been wandering around for several months now--just doing odd jobs to help pay for whatever maintenance he might need. And he had found out that eternity could be a very long time if there was nothing to do. Which there wasn't for him. He was just this extremely uppity Artificial Intelligent weapons system that no longer had any enemies to fight.

He spent most his time wondering what JinMay was doing.

That really bothered him. So he went back. She'd like that.

His arrival was as exciting as it usually was when guests were welcomed into the Super Robot. (It was still kind of weird to think about living inside his brother, he found).  
They picked up about where they'd left off. He'd say something snarky and arrogant and she'd be all sweet and polite about it even if it hurt and then Chiro would come and dominate her attention and they'd begin all over again. Occasionally he'd help the Hyperforce fight a monster, but he mostly just kept wandering the streets at all hours.

She always found him though. He was starting to believe she always would.

"Why don't you leave?" he asked her one day when it was just the two of them.

"I _do _love him, you know."

"But you said yourself that that's just your programming. Imagine what you could do if you just overrode that and left."

"...I don't have anywhere to go."

"Neither do I."

"You wouldn't understand. You don't have the emotional range that I do--I'm almost a perfect human."

"And that's what makes you such a machine. Humans aren't perfect. Besides, what are you going to do when he grows up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...you'd either have to _upgrade _or leave anyway. Don't tell me that you're not aware of human practices."

"We...haven't discussed it."

"For being so in love you guys don't seem to talk much."

"Well it's hard. When I see him, my programming boots up and I just..."

"You become his perfect girl. Are you happy?"

She looked at him in shock--whether it was from _him _asking that particular question or if it was just the question itself he didn't know.

Either way, all he got was a guilty look and more eye aversion. And that awkward suffocating silence.

_**~xiv~**_

"Come on," she grabbed his hand and led him off toward the harbor.

He followed silently. There seemed to be something _different _about her. He couldn't place what but she just seemed more..._JinMay _than usual. If that made any sense. Which it didn't.

When they got to their spot she simply smiled (that one really truly JinMay smile that he was starting to admit wasn't the worst thing that he could stare at for hours) and kept going.

Activating her thrusters she dragged him up until he activated his own and gave her a confused look. Or as much as he could give a look. Either way she knew what he wasn't asking.

"Come on, we've got some time to waste."

He intertwined his fingers with hers before taking off with her at his side.

He had no idea where they were going or what they would end up doing but it really didn't matter. They were machines; they had as much time to waste as the stars.


	3. Chapter 3

Heh, hey guys, you still there? Yes, well, I hope you're ready for the big conclusion that makes everything okay again.

I heartily thank everyone who has enjoyed this little fic and agrees that this is a rather nice pairing. So, enjoy :)

* * *

**Quote**: _"The magic of first love is our ignorance that it can ever end."--Benjamin Disraeli_

**Disclaimer**: I am making absolutely no profit by doing this. I merely do this because the voices demand I do.

* * *

I asked for a fairytale romance.

In my defense, I'd never read any actual fairytales.

**oOo**

_Once upon a time there was a damsel. One day, she found herself in a bit of danger by two ogres. Just when she gave up hope of being rescued a handsome knight came to her aid. The knight and she fell in love at First Sight. They had a glorious time together and promised each other that they'd be together forever.  
_

**oOo**

I knew they were supposed to end with Happily Ever After with the Bad Guy gone and the Good Guy riding into the sunset with the pretty Girl in his arms, looking lovingly into each others eyes as the future turned into a bright ray of endless possibilities.

**oOo**

_Then, they got into a terrible fight when the evil king revealed that the damsel wasn't a damsel at all. But True Love conquers all and so they resolved their issues and beat the evil king. The not-damsel had to leave though, there was too much she didn't know about herself, but they both knew it wasn't good-bye. They'd be together forever._

_And for a long time, they were..._

**oOo**

But I didn't know they just ended. Forever.

When you finally came back and saved me over and over again, I was happy. I was ready for the Sunset and everything to fall back into the perfect world only I knew. I didn't know the world wasn't perfect - unfair, yes, but perfection was still achievable.

**oOo**

_The kind knight would go off and battle for the freedom and justice of all the kingdom, and the not-damsel would wait for him. Always._

_She always believed in him; she knew he'd never leave her. They were perfect together. Even when the Knight left for a long time and she had to watch over the kingdom herself, she always knew he'd come back - he was her Knight._

**oOo**

Life isn't just one story: it's a billion little pieces of a thousand different tales that go on everyday of every year of forever.

I know that now.

And _our _story? Our story is a fairytale.

That's what makes it so hard - _we _have to have an ending.

But Prometheus is no heroic antagonist. There's nothing about him that is appealing.

**oOo**

_Until one day, the not-damsel met one of the knight's friends: The Black Knight._

_The Black Knight was a cold, and isolated being - much different than the not-damsel's sweet, pure knight. She didn't like him very much at first._

**oOo**

Sure, Slingshot and I are both robots.

Yes, we both have high-processing internal, super-computers that give us sentience.

Does that really mean that we had to be stuck next to each other at every meeting though? Did we even have choice?

He rarely ever spoke (at first), and when he did it was usually something derogatory or in this smug tone that I held no appreciation for. Being courteous to him was like trying to garden in the desert - a wasted effort. Yet, I couldn't fight my programming and continued to smile at him whenever I saw him and asked all the pleasantries I could before I could make up some excuse to leave him to his permanent sulking.

Unfortunately we seemed to see a little too much of each other and I was doomed to the rebuffs he spit at me.

**oOo**

_Life went on in the quaint little kingdom though. The not-damsel and the Knight were still very much in love and still guarded the kingdom from the Evil King who wanted to rule._

_In his travels, the Knight had made plenty of allies who were came to help their most loyal and helpful friend._

**oOo**

I know that doesn't sound very nice or even make much sense now - but that's how it was. I promise.

I really didn't like him. But he was my only companion when you were gone or busy. Besides, I'm designed to be irresistibly perfect, if anyone can change a machine-hardened heart, it's me.

I'm telling you this because you deserve to know - even if you won't remember it, I _need _to tell you this.

This is as much my story as it is yours.

**oOo**

_But one day, the not-damsel was hurt pretty badly in battle. There was no help around. The enemy was closing in fast._

_Then the Black Knight appeared and slayed the foe; he scooped her up in his arms and got her to safety. The not-damsel thought that maybe she'd been too harsh in her judgement and made a promise to herself that she'd try to be a better friend to him. Especially since he was the only one who came to see her when she was being repaired._

**oOo**

I thought he spent too much time alone. Prometheus was always taking off.

He always stubbornly refused to interact with any of the other allies, unless it was absolutely necessary. And I knew he had been brought up alone, under rough circumstances (the details where a mystery though), so I partially excused his lack of social skills.

But no one ever learned anything by avoidance, I said.

So I followed him one day.

It was rather awkward, really. There I was, just randomly following this not-friend out of...pity? gratitude? curiosity? I didn't know. I honestly felt silly.

**oOo**

_Her wonderful knight hadn't forgotten her though. He had just been away fighting a huge war._

_She waited patiently for his safe return that she prayed for everyday._

_After a while, she began to pray for his attention again. She knew it was selfish of her, but she missed her handsome Knight by her side.  
_

_Happily ever after seemed so far away._

**oOo**

That's when I really got to know him.

I was right, of course - he just needed some unrelenting guidance. He's not a reformed Robot or a whole new being, but he's...better. He's friendlier - at least to me.

He's a lot like you, you know that? You're both eager and determined and passionate and focused and stunningly smart. He's like your darker, robotic twin. That's what drew me in.  
I saw a lot of you in him at first. That's why I stayed. I missed you so much, I was willing to do anything - I even partially tried to morph him into you. That obviously didn't work out, and I'm glad of it now. Even after that, I stayed, just to have something of you to interact with.

And then one day, I didn't see you, I saw _him_.

**oOo**

_"What are you going to do, _princess_?" the Black Knight questioned one day during one of their usual spats.  
_

_The not-damsel knew he meant it harshly, but she ever had a kind heart and so ignored the insults that came after it. She honestly didn't have a plan for her future either. She was the Knight's, she was supposed to be at his side forever. Yet the Black Knight brought up a good point - was that really all she wanted to do? Was that all her dreams consisted of? No, she decided, they weren't. _

_There was more to her than just being 'the Knight's girl.' She did have a personality.  
_

_She stared back over toward the Black Knight and felt her first inkling of hatred toward another being for making her question herself like this. Making her face this unspeakable truth that she could never succeed at.  
_

_She couldn't fight the hold the Knight had over her - not yet. They still had forever._

**oOo**

And you know what? _He _made me _feel_, Chiro. And it felt awful.

I was experiencing a real identity crisis. When I left you the first time to search for where I came from and who I really was, I still counted you as my main identity. I always knew you'd be there. It was instinctual and I never questioned it. I was yours and you were mine - it was an established fact in my processors.

I felt what I had always felt toward you. I still do.

With Sling, though, it's all new. It's all non-formulaic and completely spontaneous. I like that, Chiro; I like it a lot.

**oOo**

_Then Black Knight left to go back to his own kingdom and fight his own battles once more._

_A haze fell over the not-damsel that she refused to recognize. She and her Knight renewed their eternal vows of love and devotion and for a while, they lived peaceably towards them.  
_

_Unfortunately, the Black Knight had awoken something inside the not-damsel that refused to be quiet any longer. She began to desire to be her own person. To not be 'not-damsel' or 'the Knight's girl' or any of her other given titles. That disturbed the Knight for he had never had to deal with this sort of issue before.  
_

_At first he suspected witch-craft. The not-damsel was surely under a spell! It was the only logical explanation and he began to try and break it in earnest - but none of his consultants could find anything wrong with her. He took to simply observing her and trying to maintain their previous flame of love.  
_

_It was to no avail.  
_

**oOo**

As far as I can tell, fairytales end in endless possibilities; that's what "ever afters" are.

That's what Sling and I have together, Chiro. Endless possibilities.

I want it, Chiro, I want it so bad it hurts. I've never felt this way before - it's freeing and restricting and euphoric and dangerous and I want to take before it slips away forever.  
So I am.

Even as I look at you now, so beautiful, so peaceful, so lovely; my heart aches and I am being torn in two. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, Chiro. Nothing.

That's why I have to leave now. If I do this any other way, I'll stay. I'll look you in the eyes and see a simply beautiful future full of holiday cards and family - and I'll want that more. I'll see everything any girl could possibly desire wrapped up in your purity and I'll fall hard all over again. Even without my programming, you're still too wonderful to words.

Sometimes I wish I could hate you, just so that away it wouldn't be so hard. Sometimes I think I do.

You're the most marvelous boy in the cosmos. You're kind-hearted, and sweeter than sugar, and loyal to a fault, and destined for far greater things that I just simply can't stand it all.

We go together well, I know that. I see it everyday. We're perfect for each other. I can't take that anymore, Chiro. I want a life, not a story. I want to be somebody, and next to you, I can't be. You're too much for me, Chiro.

If I don't leave now, I'll stay.

I can't do that Chiro - you'll understand someday, hopefully.

**oOo**

_Time passed and things only grew worse between the once happy couple. The Knight refused to let the not-damsel expand beyond her previously chosen future. The not-damsel in turn began to resent the Knight's hold (but never the Knight) yet stayed by his side, loyal as always._

_Until, one fateful day, the Black Knight showed up in the kingdom once more. He told her of his own adventures and filled her head once more with desires of freedom and growth.  
_

_The young maiden cast off her former self with the return of it's slayer.  
_

_The Knight wasn't one to admit defeat; he had won countless battles against greater foes. He could beat this opponent. He was the not-damsels True Love, he had always been.  
_

_Before the great battle, the maiden pleaded with her fair Knights, but could not make them see reason. She knew what she had to do._

**oOo**

She gently ran her hand down the slumbering boys face.

"I'll _always _love you, Chiro," she said. She was having difficulty holding back the tears - but she didn't want to wake him. "I just can't be what you need."

JinMay left as quietly as she had come, allowing a few of the pent up tears to escape her sockets now that she was out of danger of waking her First Love.

She couldn't mourn for long though - there was a forever to spend, and she couldn't do it on her own.

**oOo**

_And they lived forever after..._


End file.
